Issued by
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

Purpose

The purpose of this Notice is to inform potential applicants of the change in the eligibility and commitment letter language in the funding opportunity announcement (FOA) PAR-15-131 titled, "Global Infectious Disease Research Administration Development Award for Low-and Middle-Income Country Institutions (G11)".

Part 2. Section III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants

Eligible Organizations

Current language:

Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions)

Eligible organizations must be in a LMIC, as defined by The World Bank, and includes research institutions in LMICs. Eligible applicant foreign institutions in LMICs are limited to those receiving NIAID grant and/or cooperative agreement funding at the time of application submission. Eligible organizations must have received less than $500,000 in total NIH grant or cooperative agreement support in the last 10 years at the time of application submission. In order to assure that the US host institutions have appropriate expertise in the management and administration of NIH grants, the applicants’ US host institutions are limited to US institutions that, at the time of submission, have received more than $5 million per year in total NIH research grant or cooperative agreement support each year of the last 10 years.

Revised language:

Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions)

Eligible organizations must be in a LMIC, as defined by The World Bank, and includes research institutions in LMICs. Eligible applicant foreign institutions in LMICs are limited to those receiving NIAID grant and/or cooperative agreement funding at the time of application submission. Eligible organizations must have received less than $2.2 million in total NIH grant and cooperative agreement support (direct awards and subawards) in the last 5 years at the time of application submission. In order to assure that the US host institutions have appropriate expertise in the management and administration of NIH grants, the applicants’ US host institutions are limited to US institutions that, at the time of submission, have received more than $5 million per year in total NIH research grant or cooperative agreement support each yearover the last 10 years.

Part 2. Section IV. Application and Submission Information

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

Current language:Letters of Support: Applicants should provide the following letters of support:

Letters of recommendation: Applicants must provide three letters of support from colleagues who have worked with the PD/PI and/or have the knowledge to describe and comment on his or her role in grants administration, effectiveness in working with a team and ability to successfully communicate and coordinate across organizational boundaries. Each letter must also include the referee’s name, title, institutional affiliation, address, telephone and fax numbers, and email address.

Institutional Commitment Letter: A letter of commitment must be provided by the President or designated high ranking official (i.e., Provost, Vice-President for Research, Dean, etc.) of the LMIC Institution as evidence of institutional commitment to enhancing research grants administration. The letter should highlight the provision of adequate staff, facilities, authority to implement changes to the grants management process and resources that can contribute to the planned efforts to improve training in research grants administration. It should also include a commitment to the proposed sustainability initiative project.

US Institutional Commitment Letter: A letter of commitment must be provided by the business office of the US institution as evidence of institutional commitment to provide at least two grants management best practices training sessions at their institution. It should also include a commitment to provide one senior grants manager with NIH grants management experience to oversee the two grants management training events, and to review the grantees proposed local grants management/business plans.

Revised language:Letters of Support: Applicants should provide the following letters of support:

Letters of recommendation: Applicants must provide three letters of support from colleagues who have worked with the PD/PI and/or have the knowledge to describe and comment on his or her role in grants administration, effectiveness in working with a team and ability to successfully communicate and coordinate across organizational boundaries. Each letter must also include the referee’s name, title, institutional affiliation, address, telephone and fax numbers, and email address.

Institutional Commitment Letter: A letter of commitment must be provided by the President or designated high ranking official (i.e., Provost, Vice-President for Research, Dean, etc.) of the LMIC Institution as evidence of institutional commitment to enhancing research grants administration. The letter should highlight the provision of adequate staff, facilities, authority to implement changes to the grants management process and resources that can contribute to the planned efforts to improve training in research grants administration. It should also include a commitment to the proposed sustainability initiative project. In addition, the letter should affirm that the applicant institution has current NIAID support and include grant number(s) and total amount in U.S. dollars for all NIH grant and cooperative agreement support (direct awards and subawards) received in the last 5 years at the time of application submission.

US Institutional Commitment Letter: A letter of commitment must be provided by the business office of the US institution as evidence of institutional commitment to provide at least two grants management best practices training sessions at their institution. It should also include a commitment to provide one senior grants manager with NIH grants management experience to oversee the two grants management training events, and to review the grantees proposed local grants management/business plans. The letter should affirm that the US host institution, at the time of submission, has received more than $5 million per year in total NIH research grant and cooperative agreement support each year over the last 10 years.